Mazda Great Lakes Alumni
(Updated Sunday, February 18, 2007 05:27 PM
)
Additions or corrections? Please send a note to: Doug
Wenzel
December 2006 News
- Gordon Mast has spent nearly 30 days in Blodgett Hospital! What was
supposed to be simple outpatient surgery turned into a serious hospital
stay. It looks like he's nearly ready to go home this week and I'm
sure he would love to hear from you!
- Ted Andriese has gone and gotten himself hitched! Ted and Marilyn
Rottschafer were wed on October 22, and now make their home in Spring
Lake. Congratulations Ted and Marilyn!
- Holly McGavin, Controller at Betten Imports, has what sounds like a great
part-time job opportunity available! If interested, see below..
Job
Opportunity
Betten Imports Cashier/Receptionist: This position provides support to the
operating departments; Performs light filing, cashiering and general office
duties; Operates a multi-line telephone system and tracks caller activity.
Knowledge of Microsoft Excel is a plus. The Hours are Tuesday and
Friday from 9am to 6pm and alternating Saturdays from 10am to 4pm. The
position pays $8.50 per hour. If interested email or call
Holly McGavin at Hmcgavin@bettenimports.com
or 616-475-9503.
- Judy Kidder & her husband Gary have moved to a year round home on
Payne Lake. They have their cottage on Payne Lake and their home in
Caledonia for sale. Their new address is: 11803 Lakeridge Drive, Wayland, MI
49348. New phone number is 269.795.9953. She wishes Happy Holidays to
everyone.
- Hal Paulsen is recovering very nicely from his second knee replacement.
He's taking antibiotics to prevent infection. He's back on email and would
love to hear from his Mazda friends!
November 2006 News
- On Friday night November 10, 20 or so MGL alumni met at the Cantina in
Grand Rapids to celebrate making it nearly 7 years since we all worked
together!
October 2006 News
September 2006 News
- Jason Miles (Holly McGavin's husband) will be performing a 9/11
Tribute/Fundraiser Concert in order to raise funds for the Twin Towers
Orphan Fund. They provide physical and mental health care as well as
eduction funds for children (and babies) who have lost one or both parents
in the 9/11 attacks. This also includes children of the Pentagon attack and
the children from passengers of Flight 93. The concert will be on Monday,
9/11 and start at 6:30pm with Mayor Carol Sheets' introduction of
Jason. Jason will perform "United We Stand" along with his
new Nashville songs currently gaining airplay across the State, including
the current B-93 song "Wouldn't Want To Be Her Man Tonight". Jason
is featured in the Sunday September 10 Entertainment section of The Grand
Rapids Press. He is pictured on the front page of the Entertainment section
and information on the Tribute Concert is on Page F13 of the same section.
Jason will also be featured on WMUS's morning show on 9/11 somewhere between
the 7am and 9am hours. They will interview Jason and play "United We
Stand". B-93 (93.7) will be announcing this concert on Monday
9/11 as well.
August 2006 News
- Ted Andriese has a new e-mail address: rtand@charter.net
- Dave Seeber's new e-mail address at work is dseeber@theequitynetwork.com
- Ted Andriese has moved from Grand Rapids to Spring Lake -- 18167 Lost
Creek Lane, Spring Lake, MI 49456.
- Bob Hahn's new e-mail address is bobhahn1@sbcglobal.net
- Matt Nyenhuis has left Mazda and is now working for Nissan in Nashville,
TN.
- Chuck Fallos has retired from Mazda! Early last year Chuck set the
date… Judy in April & Chuck this month. Chuck is now spending
more time fishing, flying, & traveling. Check
out the picture of Chuck and Judy along with Jim and Nancy (Schneider)
while they were all on the Field Manager of the year trip to Montage Resort
& Catalina Island this June. Chuck's e-mail address at Mazda is
now down so make sure you use his cjfallos@mtc.net
address.
July 2006 News
- Bill Doelfs sent in an update... his e-mail address is now wdoelfs@columbus.rr.com
and his cell number is (614) 325-6498. He has been working at an
extended warranty company in Columbus, and has just been promoted to a
claims supervisor position. They administer contracts for thousands of
dealers across the country with many in MI.
June 2006 News
- On Saturday June 10, at the age of 80, Barb Taggart's Dad (Mr. Harold J.
Piccard Sr.) of Grand Rapids, passed away peacefully at home surrounded by
his family. Please drop Barb a note and let her know you're thinking
of her and her family during this time.
- Jo Burnham visited Michigan recently, and met with several alumni at The
Kirby House in Grand Haven for dinner on June 8th for a little reunion. Andi
Dekker, Sue Worsley, Jean Kelleher, George and Julie Horton, Winnie
Wulbrecht, Gail Kober, Judy Kidder and Judi Rabbai all shared the fun
evening rehashing MGL memories, and shared many laughs. You can check
out the picture they took on the Pictures
page.
May 2006 News
- Mary Kay Walsh has updated the Where
are they now? page with her new information after moving to the
Chicago area to take over the Southern Chicago district for Hyundai.
- Click on the link to see the article
from The Grand Rapids Press on the buildings in Grand Rapids named for
Peter and Pat Cook.
- Erv Lichterman's mom, Caroline Lichterman, passed away on May 11. She was
96 and was buried in Manitowoc, WI on May 15th. She was 96 years old. A
broken hip started the trouble several weeks before. Please keep Erv
and his family in your thoughts and prayers as they grieve their loss.
- The next Retiree Luncheon will be at Brann's on Leonard at noon on August
1.
- Peter Cook celebrated his 92nd birthday on Tuesday, May 9th. He's still at
the office every day and continues to be a mover and shaker! No one can keep
up with him. If anyone wants to send him a card, do so at the office: Cook
Holdings 618 Kenmoor S E. Grand Rapids, MI 49546.
April 2006 News
- Hal Paulsen had knee replacement surgery on February 28. He developed a
staph infection, and it did not clear up. On April 23, he was readmitted to
the hospital with a blood clot behind the knee. On April 27, the titanium
knee was removed and an infection was found in that area as well as his
stomach. He's going to be in assisted living for the next 6-8 weeks. The
doctors will put the new knee back in after all infection has been clear for
at least a month. Hal is taking this all in stride and trying to keep
his spirits up. Pray for Hal and Judy as they deal with this difficult
situation. He's not on his computer so please don't send emails. Cards and
notes would be appreciated.
- Peter and Pat Cook received the Community Service Award on April 20, at
the National Kidney Foundation’s Twelfth Annual Galaxy Awards Tribute
Dinner. Congratulations Peter and Pat!
- Doug Dykstra has taken a new job working for a company called "SoundOff
Signal" in Hudsonville as an Electronic Technician. Their
website is WWW.SOUNDOFFSIGNAL.COM
- Some of you may remember Neal Berson, long-time MNAO employee, most
recently a Regional General Manager. Neal passed away the evening of
April 10th from a brain tumor, with which he was diagnosed only a couple of
weeks ago. Neal was extremely dedicated to Mazda; his career there spanned
more than 20 years.
March 2006 News
- Don Jones' phone number has been changed to (616) 997-6671.
- Mary Kay Walsh, Chuck Fallos, Bob Hahn, Jim Dergance and Jim Schneider had
their own little "La Cantina" type gathering on the other
side of the lake on March 1. Check out the group picture on the Pictures
page.
- Ron Rathlein has updated his contact information on the Where
are they now? page.
February 2006 News
- Gail Kober has a new e-mail address: johnkober@sbcglobal.net
- Gerry Huissen, aged 74, of Grand Rapids, died Sunday February 26, 2006. He
is survived by his wife of 50 years, June. Gerry was a VW, Interwheel
and Mazda parts/accessory guru who last worked for Bruce Brown with Mazda.
- The old Woodland International Truck group has gone through another change
in name. They are now Western Michigan International Trucks, LLC dba
Wieland International. E-mail addresses for Ted and George have also
changed. They are now tseil@wielandtrucks.com
and ghorton@wielandtrucks.com
- Ted Andriese has a new e-mail address. RTAnd@comcast.net
- A few weeks ago Bette Nowicki rushed her husband Dick to St. Mary’s
Hospital after finding him unconscious in their home. He had stayed at
the Hospital until just recently when he was transferred to Spectrum Health
Continuing Care on 44th Street. Apparently, Dick has suffered some
long-term damage as a result. While all of this was going on, Bette
fell off of her porch and when she went in to be checked out, they found a
problem with her appendix! She is currently at St. Mary’s Hospital.
Bette's life has changed dramatically within just a few weeks and I'm sure
she would appreciate a card expressing support.
- Bob Riggs, age 76, passed away unexpectedly on Tuesday, February 14, 2006.
In the midst of his family's sadness he brought joy to the lives of another
family as a donor to the Gift of Life. Bob is survived by his wife of 51
years, Joan. I'm sure Joan would appreciate a notes or card from his
former co-workers. Her address is 2202 Hall SE East Grand Rapids, MI
49506. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions are suggested to the
Gift of Life, 2203 Platt Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48104.
- Jean Kelleher's only sibling, her brother, died suddenly in late January
in Boston, MS. I'm sure Jean would appreciate your expression of
support. Her address is 5436 Londonderry Drive SE Kentwood, MI 49508.
- Becky Decker is now with Information Managers & Associates. Her
e-mail address is bdecker@iminformation.com
- Connie Ellinger has a new e-mail address: receret@aol.com
- Don't forget this week's MGL
Get-Together! We're meeting Friday February 10, 6pm at La Cantina on the corner of
28th St. and East Paris.
January 2006 News
- Doug Dykstra and 200 other people working for CSC (the IT Outsourcing
company for Foremost/Farmers account nationwide) lost their jobs Friday.
Seventy five percent of the IT work at Foremost/Farmers is now done off
shore. Doug Dykstra is actively looking for employment so if you know
of a company looking for IT people, please pass the word along to
Doug. His personal e-mail address is dcdykstra@worldnet.att.net
- Bette Nowicki has changed her e-mail address! It is now rnowicki3648@esagelink.com
- Happy New Year! Can you believe it's been nearly 5 years since our team
went their separate ways?
- Judi Rabbai's new email address is judirabbai@aol.com
- Jean Hibbard is in charge of marketing for WMU in Grand Rapids and has put
together a Women's' Day Event for Jan.21 called "Renew You". It
will be held at the East Beltline Campus with free parking. There will be
four classes plus lunch and the cost for this all day event (9:30am-3:30pm)
is only $45!! The program will consist of a Yoga class, a lecture on "decluttering"
your life, Beauty Makeovers by the Leslie Studio and a Floral Design class
by Andicott Floral. Space is limited; pre-registration is required. Call
Jean at 742-5027 to register. There was an ad and an editorial in the Jan.4
ADVANCE Newspaper (EAST edition- including EGR, Forest Hills, Cascade, Ada,
etc.) Bring a friend, a daughter, a co-worker. Enjoy all four sessions
as well as lunch by The Catering Company for only $45. Comfortable work-out
clothes and a towel or mat are encouraged.
- Anyone up for an MGL Get-Together? The
tentative date is Friday February 10, 6pm at La Cantina on the corner of
28th St. and East Paris. Let me know if the date works for you!
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